WORLD.OS - Articles and Newsletter

Geopolitical competition, industrial policy and new strategic partnerships are reshaping international cooperation. A more polycentric world requires new ways to coordinate economic interests, technological development and global public goods. Author: Julius MURKE Trade liberalisation, development cooperation and multilateral institutions have shaped the international economic order for decades. Today, industrial policy, economic security and strategic partnerships are taking

I consider myself a mission-driven person. I work in international cooperation because I want to contribute to meaningful change. And I want to work in an environment where everyone involved is genuinely committed to achieving results. This is precisely why I welcome the shift from traditional development cooperation towards mutual interest partnerships. Author: Julius MURKE My central hypothesis is simple: When countries have a genuine interest in a partnership, they also

We want to transform development cooperation towards mutual interest partnerships. We form expert commissions and round tables. But instead of inviting people outside of the development community and bringing in people that do things differently, we mainly stick to the old guard of leaders that have shaped the same system we now want to change. Author: Julius MURKE I currently come across numerous workshops and expert panels discussing how Europe should operationalise its a

Author: Julius MURKE EU’s Open source Strategy (The EU Open Source Strategy | Shaping Europe’s digital future) is another example of how EU’s technology policy is changing in today’s geoeconomic context — and another case where Europe is pointing in the right direction but has not yet operationalised the transformation its own strategies imply. The EU increasingly treats technology not simply as a market outcome, but as a strategic capability. Resilience, technological sovere

Author: Julius MURKE Two transformations are reshaping international cooperation: the move from trade liberalisation towards strategic industrial partnerships, and the move from development assistance towards mutual-interest partnerships. As these traditionally separate worlds begin to converge, what does this mean for the organisations implementing international cooperation. During my time as a trainee at GIZ, I worked on strategic innovation: the question of how organisa

Author: Julius MURKE Europe's relationship with the Global Majority is changing. The EU–India strategic partnership offers a concrete illustration of what this transformation could look like: moving beyond traditional trade liberalisation and development assistance towards jointly developing technologies, investing in strategic industries and building shared economic capabilities. In several previous editions of World.OS, I have argued that international cooperation is enteri

Why Europe’s inherited view of Africa makes it overlook the partners it increasingly needs Author: Julius MURKE During a slow morning in the office I have a conversation with my colleague about why our work on implementing modern digital solutions in Cameroon is not easily recognized as an opportunity to contribute to Europe’s own digital sovereignty. Many people working in European embassies, international cooperation or German public administrations can readily imagine Eu

Author: Julius MURKE I have written extensively about industrial policy in recent months. Regular readers will know the broader argument: in what I have called the geoeconomic decade, economic policy and international cooperation are increasingly being reorganised around economic security, strategic industries and more resilient supply chains. Governments are no longer concerned primarily with efficiency and growth. They are focusing on where essential products are manufactur